


Reclaiming our Stories - Katherine Howard

by catherine_parr_1512



Series: Reclaiming our Stories [1]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Sort Of, Time Travel, beheaded, don't ask me, it's past midnight and i don't know what i'm doing, k howard needs saving, queens deserve hugs, saving people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catherine_parr_1512/pseuds/catherine_parr_1512
Summary: Katherine Howard is about to die in the morning. Can she somehow be saved by a knight in shining armour? Or maybe 12 ladies in pink costume...
Series: Reclaiming our Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1792657
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	Reclaiming our Stories - Katherine Howard

Katherine Howard was sitting in her small cell in the Tower of London. She guessed it was night time since the guard left her water and a small piece of bread not so long ago, the same routine she had experienced for months. Just yesterday, the guard announced that tomorrow, on 13th of February, she will be executed. When Katherine heard that, she asked a guard to bring her a chopping block so that she can prepare herself for her execution. Surprisingly, he brought it not long after he left her cell in the dungeon.

Now young Katherine sat there by herself, already finished the practice with the chopping block for tonight. Or was it her last practice ever? She was to be executed in the morning, just like the second queen and wife of Henry, Anne Boleyn. In some weird, twisted attempt of fate to torture her once again in her life, Katherine would have the same fate as her cousin. They had never met but Katherine’s aunt Elizabeth Howard had married Thomas Boleyn and then birthed Anne. She would soon become Henry’s second beheaded wife, ‘beheaded cousins’ thought Katherine bitterly.

To lose a head over trying to become loved by different men to only be used by them. First Henry Mannox, her music teacher who touched her when she was just 13 years old. When she told about it to her father, he did not do anything, so Katherine just accepted it. Soon, Mannox started doing more and more with her… For the first time in so long, she felt loved by someone. Soon, however, she was moved to her step-grandmother. There, she met Francis Dereham.

Francis was a secretary and advisor of her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess. She had caught his eye and there was no going back. Francis started inviting her to his office, doing the same things she did with Mannox, loving her. At least that’s what she thought. Why a full-grown man would love a young, 15-year-old girl with a pretty face? She never truly realised that until now probably. Just as their relationship started to escalate, her father got a nice position in the court of King Henry VIII.

Katherine was appointed as the Lady in Waiting for Queen Anna of Cleves, King’s fourth wife. Queen Anna was beautiful but after the initial meeting, the King started spreading rumours about her being as ugly as a horse and simple people believed him. He was married to Queen Anna for 7 months and during this time, 17-year-old Katherine caught his eye. Yes, he was the oldest of her ‘lovers’ and yet, Katherine found it quite addicting to be so close to someone who was at the top of England, the most powerful man in England. She loved his attention so when he divorced Anna of Cleves in July, they quickly married. First few months were great for Katherine. People finally listened to her if she would ask for anything (not that she asked a lot, Henry wanted her to have everything). Soon, however, Henry started to be more aggressive, possessive especially after feasts or court sessions. He was jealous of other men even looking at her and Katherine thought it was okay, he was the King and she was just his wife, she had no choice to listen to him. Soon, Henry started to go on hunts, meeting with his sleazy friends and sleeping with other women, leaving Katherine with her ladies in waiting and trusted members of the court, all who wanted to use her to get closer to the king. That’s how she met Thomas Culpeper. They started talking with each other, becoming friends. She thought that she had someone whom she could trust, who would not use her. He didn’t use her, he used her body, but she could never let it know to the king, she would die. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) one of the courtiers have let it know to Henry that she was cheating with Thomas. She was imprisoned. Since there was no definite proof for it, Henry decided to pass with the parliament the law which meant that the queen had to tell the king with whom she slept before marriage, having 2 weeks to do it after they married. That is how they got her in this situation, they found out about Mannox and Dereham. She was arrested, she has pleaded to Henry to listen to her, but it was to no avail. She was imprisoned and tomorrow she will be dead…

Katherine sat on the bed in her cell, not caring about sleep since she will be dead anyway. She sat there, listening to little sounds – mice and rats running in the dungeons, their little feet stomping on the stone loudly in the middle of the night; the burning of torches; a bunch of women talking quietly outside her cell; the sounds of footsteps above her cell… Wait… women talking next to her cell? Is it already morning and guards brought someone to help her get ready for the execution?

The young queen had no time to think as the door opened, showing some light into the cell. Katherine stood up, ready to whatever was to come but she did not expect what she saw. Instead of guards and some ladies, her cell was filled with 12 young women. 5 of them had brown hair, 1 had dark blond hair, 3 had blonde hair, 2 had black hair and the last woman had black hair with pink ends (Don’t ask Katherine how the other woman managed it). All of them were not so much older from her. She guessed a few of the oldest looking could be 10 years older than her with all the others still looking older from her by a few years. Katherine saw one of the blond women turning around and closing the door while a dark blonde one had a torch in her hand.

Now that the doors were closed, Katherine took a long look at what they were all wearing. All of them had similar clothes like that of the peasant man – trousers and shirts of different lengths with so many colours that Katherine did not know where she should look. One of the brown-haired women stepped forward, clearly becoming a ‘leader’ of the group.

“Hi.” The woman started with an accent that Katherine had not heard before. It was strong and soft at the same time. “My name is Aimie and we are here to save you from your execution.”

  
Katherine looked at the woman before her with a raised eyebrow “We? I don’t know who you are, and you could as well work for the King.” She said determinedly. If she must die, she will die with some dignity, not falling for one of Henry’s schemes, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction in her last few hours.

  
“Right, we should, of course, introduce ourselves. Well, I’m Vicki and those are Annabel, Sophie, Samantha, Courtney, Jodie, Alicia, Bryony, Rebecca, Georgia, another Courtney and of course Aimie.” Said one of the blonde women with a warm smile on her face.

  
“Did the King sent you here?” Asked again young Katherine not trusting any of the women in her cell at all.

  
“Us working for Henry VIII? That’s the furthest you could be from guessing.” Stated dark-haired woman whom Vicki introduced as Bryonia (or was it Bryony? Katherine wasn’t sure).

  
“I know it is hard to believe but we are from the future. And you are the one thing that connects all of us.” Said the woman with black hair and pink ends – Samantha.

  
“In what way?” Asked impatiently Katherine getting tired of them not answering her questions. Can she even trust them when many other people lied to her during her rather short life? Part of her wants to believe them but the other part of her, the one that sounds like all the men she was with, says that they are surely lying to her. Also, how can be from the future? Katherine didn’t ask them that but she would like answers soon enough.

  
“We all played the part of you, Katherine Howard, in Six The Musical – a theatre performance with music about Henry’s six wives.” Whispered the woman with a torch in her hand. Katherine wasn’t sure what her name was, probably something with G.

  
“And if you go with us now, we will explain it all to you.” Added one of the blonde women – Jodie?

  
“We have to move fast though, there is a high possibility that the guards will start looking for you,   
Katherine.” Added Courtney, the one with curly hair.

  
Katherine quickly made up her mind, deciding to trust those women. She quickly nodded as an agreement to go with them and got up from her bed.   
They all moved out from her cell, the women leading her through narrow corridors of Tower of London. Surprisingly, they had not met even one guard, but Katherine was not complaining as this reduced the possibility of being found out by the King. She also suspected that those women had something to do with all of that so she said nothing about it. They made their way out of the Tower and Kathrine had to stop. She was inside for so long that she forgot the coldness of the air during the night, the rather terrible smell of London (she did not miss that one) and the look of the stars on the night sky, forming numerous constellations. She wanted to just stand there, taking in the sky like that but she had to move, towards her only chance for freedom.

  
The group of 13 women made their way towards the north-eastern corner of the fortress. When they got almost to the end, they have moved to the left towards the northern walls. Suddenly, she saw the door which was glowing with white and pink light. She looked at it warily, not knowing what it was but at the same time, she was amazed for she never saw anything like it.

  
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Asked a voice from her right. Katherine turned around and saw Vicki smiling at her. “We had the same expression when we saw it earlier, back in our time.”

  
“Your time?”

  
“Did you thought that we would be from here? We are from the future, almost 500 years to be exact. You are going with us, of course, if you want to.” Mentioned gently, Vicki. Katherine weighed her options, if she stayed in England, she could be killed. Going with them meant that would possibly have someone there who would not try to kill her or deliver her to the king. Maybe with time, she could trust them? Katherine quickly shook her head, everyone whom she ever trust has betrayed her at the end. It was not worth the pain she would experience.

  
“I want to go with you…” The young queen (was she still a queen or not?) whispered so that only Vicki could hear. The blonde woman smiled and led Katherine towards the door. She nodded at the other women and they started making their way through the door, disappearing as soon as they walked through the door, the light taking them with it. Only Vicki, Alicia and Katherine were left there.

  
“I think that you and Katherine should go first, I will follow closely behind you.” Said Alicia, speaking for the first time since Katherine met her and she had to say that Alicia had a beautiful voice. Katherine liked it.

  
“I think that’s a great idea, let’s go, Katherine. I’ll go with you so you won’t be alone. That’s a quite weird experience, to be honest.” Commented Vicki and motioned for the young queen to walk with her through the door. Katherine gulped and took a few steps forward, slowly at first but then walking more surely. She did not look back because there was nothing to look back for – no friends, no family, nothing she could care about… Except for Anna of Cleves, Henry’s fourth wife and her close friend. She would miss Anna but there was no turning back. As she stepped through the door, she felt herself moving and yet she stayed at the same place.

  
Katherine landed on the grass and heard Vicki along with Alicia doing the same next to her. She looked up and saw other women smiling, the door disappeared into the thin air. Katherine looked around herself and realised that she was in some sort of big garden or small forest. She could see trees in the distance despite it being the middle of the night. She looked up towards the sky but she did not see any stars. The noise… it was different than anything she heard… ever. She got up with the help of Samantha and Bryony. She looked again and saw… what she saw amazed her more than mysterious doors from earlier.

  
She could see a huge city, with all the roads being lit up, no single thing in the dark. So many houses thank would go to the sky, the light climbing around them like vines on the tree. It was nothing like her England and she loved it.

  
“Welcome to 21st century London, Katherine.” Said Aimie, smiling slightly at the queen they just saved.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Six fanfiction. I don't know what I'm doing. Please tell me if I'm doing it right, please. Any criticism is welcomed. Might do more about Howard and maybe other queens as well if people like it. Was listening to "Pick Me Up" while writing most of it. Thanks for reading btw and sorry for rushed ending (it seems like it's rushed)


End file.
